At the edge of the extreme northern lands, within the low hills, the scale of the Netherworld Sect was no longer what it once was. The areas that were originally used by refugees to shelter from the wind and snow had now become the territory of the Netherworld Sect.
Most of the buildings here were no longer in the crude state they had been when first hastily constructed. Under the intentional arrangements of the Sun and Moon Empire, many soul tools had been added.
It wasn't just here; as the state religion of the Sun and Moon Empire, the Ming Capital had long since established a residence for the Netherworld Sect, decorated in quite luxurious style.
However, aside from the new disciples recruited over the years, the original Netherworld Sect disciples were all evil soul masters who had come from the Holy Spirit Cult and were more willing to remain in this rarely populated area near the extreme north.
In some rooms of the Netherworld Sect, one could see disciples learning to craft soul tools. However, the ones guiding them were not any teachers, but a faint, ethereal figure floating in the air.
At the beginning, the sect's disciples had been quite puzzled, but Nana, who had previously been guided by an assassin's soul, quickly accepted the appearance of the new soul.
Over the past few years, everyone in the sect had grown accustomed to the situation of coexisting with souls within the Netherworld Sect.
It was rumored that after death, human souls would return to the Netherworld. Their Netherworld Sect seemed to truly stand at the boundary between the human world and the Netherworld.
"Elder."
"Mm."
A disciple greeted him. Abomination nodded, then hurriedly walked toward the main hall.
However, upon arriving nearby, he did not see the figure he wanted to see. Only Wu Yun walked out from inside.
"Has the Sect Master not returned yet?"
"Not yet." Wu Yun shook his head. "The Sect Master didn't say where he was going. He's probably gone to deal with some powerful evil soul master again and intends to handle it personally."
Abomination thought for a moment and nodded as well. Over the years, Lin Xiao had left more than once to capture evil soul masters. Even against some troublesome opponents, they had ultimately been captured and brought into the Eternal Tower. This time, the situation was likely similar.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?"
Wu Yun looked at Abomination's expression and asked with some confusion. Abomination had always been somewhat wooden and rarely showed such an anxious look on his face.
"When I went to the core area of the extreme north, I discovered some things. Although they aren't very powerful, for some reason, I feel uneasy in my heart."
"I wanted to find the Sect Master to take a look." Although Lin Xiao's age was still less than Abomination's, at some point, almost everyone in the Netherworld Sect felt that Lin Xiao knew far more than Abomination.
"Since the Sect Master hasn't returned yet, I'll pay more attention first. We can talk about it after the Sect Master comes back."
"Alright, I'll also have the other disciples keep an eye out." Wu Yun nodded.
On the other side, far away in the Ming Capital, Lin Xiao, whom the two had just mentioned, was currently sitting inside the imperial palace study, listening to the report from the guard before him.
After Juzi had summoned the ministers to the palace for a discussion, before the ministers could arrive, a palace guard had instead brought a rather interesting piece of news.
"East Sun City, evil soul masters?"
"Yes." The guard nodded and handed over the intelligence in his hand. Without any other movement from Lin Xiao, the intelligence gently floated into his grasp.
After roughly glancing at it, Lin Xiao's expression shifted slightly.
"What's wrong? Is it difficult to deal with?"
Juzi had been watching Lin Xiao's expression the whole time. Seeing this, her own expression became more serious.
"No." Lin Xiao shook his head, raised his hand slightly, and the intelligence in his hand was sent to Juzi's table.
"It's just that I didn't expect to still see so many evil soul masters acting together nowadays. Moreover, from their description, the evil soul masters appearing in East Sun City aren't weak in strength."
"Then I'll have the soul mentor legion go over." Juzi only swept a glance over it without looking too carefully.
"It's too slow, and I'm very interested in where these evil soul masters came from. I'll go there personally." As Lin Xiao spoke, he slowly stood up.
"Then… about what we discussed earlier?"
There was still the messenger guard in the room, so Juzi did not speak too clearly.
"Just proceed as usual. I will naturally return when the time comes."
After leaving those words, when they looked again, Lin Xiao's figure was no longer in the room.
Outside the Ming Capital, a building was packed so full that it was overflowing. On the other side of the building, soul guide vehicles continuously came and went, traveling along the newly built roads toward various major cities.
With the development of soul tools and the emergence of various materials, soul tools used in everyday places, not just in the military, had undergone several iterations.
Especially after the end of the continental war, with the three great empires no longer existing, the Douluo Continent seemed to have no more troubles of war. More and more soul mentors were directing their goal of crafting soul tools toward daily items that were not used for combat.
Compared to promoting soul tools to all soul masters, ordinary civilians without soul power were clearly more interested in these miraculous soul tools. This was a brand-new and far larger market.
Lin Xiao's figure passed by the crowd without drawing anyone's attention.
However, when his gaze fell upon those crowded people, his expression still changed slightly.
This world was also becoming more and more like the one from his previous life's memories. Although he didn't know why soul tools had existed for over ten thousand years, yet had only developed to this extent in recent years, it was not difficult to judge that these changes would continue for a long time.
With a light tap of his foot, Lin Xiao stepped forward. When his foot landed again, his figure was already several zhang away.
With his current cultivation, his own traveling speed was even faster than flying soul tools. After leaving the range of the Ming Capital, each step he took covered several li, far faster than before.
"Senior brother, I feel like something's not quite right. Some of these faces… I seem to have seen them more than once."
Inside East Sun City, several figures walked along the street, looking at the changes that had occurred in the buildings on both sides over the years.
Although their clothing was somewhat uncommon compared to the people in East Sun City, ever since the three great empires had ceased to exist and quite a few people from the original Douluo Continent had come here, the locals had become accustomed to such attire.
"We came from outside the city. It's only normal that we attract the attention of the people here." The leading person glanced around slightly. "Besides, so many years have passed without any incident. No one remembers us anymore."
"Alright." The person who had just spoken let out a slight sigh of relief, though he still held some vigilance in his heart.
"Senior brother, in just a few years, this place has completely changed. And according to the information we've gathered, it seems even the original three great empires are gone. This…"
As soon as the voice fell, someone else spoke in a low tone. Even the leading "senior brother" didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Even he himself felt somewhat unaccustomed to the changes here; otherwise, he wouldn't have been circling the streets for so long.